Thief of Time (Discworld) - Softcover

Terry Pratchett

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0061031321 ISBN 13: 9780061031328

Publisher: HarperTorch, 2002

Synopsis

Everybody wants more time, which is why on Discworld only the experts can manage it -- the venerable Monks of History who store it and pump it from where it's wasted, like underwater (how much time does a codfish really need?), to places like cities, where busy denizens lament, "Oh where does the time go?"

While everyone always talks about slowing down, one young horologist is about to do the unthinkable. He's going to stop. Well, stop time that is, by building the world's first truly accurate clock. Which means esteemed History Monk Lu-Tze and his apprentice Lobsang Ludd have to put on some speed to stop the timepiece before it starts. For if the Perfect Clock starts ticking, Time -- as we know it -- will end. And then the trouble will really begin...

About this title

Review

If you were helpless with laughter over Shanghai Noon, enjoy satirical British humor and terrible puns, or just need your Pratchett fix, grab this book. Unfamiliar with Terry Pratchett and his Discworld series? It's time to discover one of the funniest, most literate, and most thought-provoking authors writing today.

The Monks of History live in a Tibetan sort of area known as "enlightenment country." Their job: "to see that tomorrow happens at all." A mysterious Lady wants time-obsessed Jeremy Clockson to build a totally accurate glass clock. It will trap time and stop it, eliminating humanity's irritating unpredictability. This would make the Auditors, who observe the universe and enforce the rules governing it, very happy. It would also put Death out of a job, which the Grim Reaper isn't happy about. Fortunately, the History Monks have encountered this situation before; in fact, Lu Tze, the Sweeper, has personally dealt with it before. Even better, he has a new, gifted apprentice, Lobsang Ludd, the "thief of time." This time, they'll stop trouble before it can start! To add chaos to the mix, there's the Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse--the one who quit before they became famous.

Although there are 25 other Discworld novels and many of the characters appeared first in previous books, you don't need to have read even one to enjoy The Thief of Time. (If you're the sort of reader who hates to miss any references, you might want to track down a copy of The Discworld Companion.) As a bonus, this book is a painless introduction to what quantum physics says about the nature of time. --Nona Vero

From the Back Cover

“In a better world he would be acclaimed as a great writer rather than a merely successful one…This is the best Pratchett I’ve read…ought to be a strong contender for the Booker prize.” — Charles Spencer, Sunday Telegraph

“Reads with all the polished fluency and sure-footed pacing that have become Pratchett’s hallmarks over the years.” — Peter Ingham, Times on Saturday

“Terry Pratchett is one of the great inventors of secondary — or imaginative or alternative — worlds. He is not derivative. He is too strong…He has the real energy of the primary storyteller.” — A.S. Byatt, The Times

“The unique selling point of the Discworld novels is their irony, allied to lashings of broad pantomime humour.” — TES

“Fans look to him for brilliantly funny dialogue, high peaks of imagination and a sense of participating in events which are strange, yet filled with everyday occurrences — the real world in disguise.” — The Times

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperTorch
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0061031321
• ISBN 13: 9780061031328
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 384